dude...for real? first of all, it wont even be a deciding game even if we win by 1 or 2 or 50 we won the first 2 game in dallas...okay...u noe what happened
There is no such thing as which game is key, every single one of them counts equally. If you are still not convinced, just recall the series we had vs the Mavs, we won two games on the road, but lost that series. Also remember the Portland series where we destroyed them in the first game, but the rest of the game were all hot contested, except the last one. The Lakers will play much better from here on, the Rockets' back court, both Brooks and Lowry, need to play their best for the Rockets to have a chance to win the series. Lakers' real strength is their front court length, which is neutralized by Yao in this series; the same is true that the Rockets' usual advantage of Yao's height will be neutralized by LA's front court. The key will be the back court speed & precision & aggressiveness of Brooks and Lowry's. If Brooks can keep his hot hand, attacks the basket with aggression, then we'll see a great 7-game series.
The fact of the matter is every game in a playoff series is more important than the last one. There's no such thing as "the most important game." They're all important. And I really just feel like unless the Lakers are shooting the snot out of the ball (over 55% for a game), our defense will always keep things reasonably close. That's why they say defense wins championships.
Except for the fact game two was very close, which would fit into the OP's analysis. Also, we knew we were better than Portland, matchup wise at least. Few gave us a chance against LA, and I'm sure the players have to convince themselves they can win as well (last night helps). Anyway, there is definitely some truth to the OP. If the Lakers blow us out, there will be a sentiment that Game 1 was a fluke. Even if we lose but keep it close, we will know we have a series on our hands. But no matter what happens, after game 1, we're playing with house money Wednesday.
Well, actually... ...the Rockets have a chance to win every game they play in. Right? But the point of this thread, I suppose, is how much this game 2 matters to the outcome of the series. I'm with Doug Collins on this. Game 2 in a seven game series is the most important. This is the game adjustments get made. And not just by the losing team. Game 1 sets the tone of the series. The terms on which the games will be played. The type of fight it's going to be. The Rockets let the Lakers know that, no matter what happens, the Lakers were going to be in a dogfight. This wasn't going to be a cakewalk for them. Nobody was going to roll over for them. The Rockets might lose. But LA was going to have to beat them. That's a HUGE statement to make. Utah never threatened to challenge the Lakers. So the Lakers ran up ridiculous leads on them, and were so bored with the Jazz that they actually let them back in a couple of times to give themselves something to do. That's not going to happen for the Lakers against the Rockets. The biggest adjustment I'm going to wait and see made, is the adjustment in attitude. By the Lakers. The Lakers are the better team. I know, I know...I got no business saying that, but it's true. But that's not the point. You have to PLAY the games in order to win them. I'm sure the Lakers know that. But what they may not have expected was that they'd actually have to DO it. The Lakers have gotten up for a few games this season. But to win at this time of year, you've got to stay up for games. Losing focus is what happens when you've got the talent to overcome it. The Lakers DO have the talent to overcome their lapses in focus. But they can't afford ANY lapses against a team that can't afford them, either. I keep hearing how the Rockets have to play perfect ball in order to beat Los Angeles. Okay. Fine. Bet it never occurred to LaLa Land that they may have to play perfectly, too...
Not true... We loss to portland, it is normal for the team who looses first to play even tougher the second game especially at home, plus refs are going to give Kobe more calls. Lakers are good at home, no way they are dropping two at home in a row, Games 3 or 4 will decide series, we can't afford to lose at home. And we all know how much Kobe likes to play in Houston, and against the crowd
